By CP
With its sales now topping $8 million, the Christmas special for “The Chosen,” the first-ever multi-season television show about Jesus, has broken another record by becoming the bestselling movie in the history of its distributor Fathom Events.
“Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers,” which features actors from “The Chosen” series, is the bestselling film for Fathom, the 11th largest distributor to movie theaters, since it was founded about 17 years ago.
“We knew we had something special with this title,” Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt said, according to Boxoffice Pro. “We are grateful for the passionate fans of The Chosen and our exhibitor partners who accommodated demand by adding showtimes and locations. We are all partners on this journey to claim the [No. 1] spot as Fathom’s bestselling event, ever!”
Fathom Events, a joint venture between AMC, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark, originally planned to show the movie in select theaters nationwide for two nights only but has since expanded to run through Dec. 10.
Just hours after tickets went on sale early last month during a livestream with show creator Dallas Jenkins, pre-sale records were shattered for the distributor with $1.5 million in sales in the first 12 hours.
“The Chosen” Executive Producer Derral Eves told The Christian Post at the time that viewers can expect an “amazing” experience that showcases the birth of Christ through the eyes of Mary and Joseph and highlights the hardships they endured.
“We’re giving symbolism to the importance of certain things around the nativity that most people just kind of push aside, or they might sing about it, but not really have the context of what that means,” Eves said.
“With ‘The Chosen,’ we try to do things disruptive. We try to do things outside the box. And we do believe that sometimes you need to do that to get more eyeballs on certain things.”
Eves also said that the idea came about to do a “standalone episode” where viewers don’t have to watch the series to “experience a great piece of content.”
Shot entirely in secret, “The Messengers” features performances by Christian artists and groups including Phil Wickham, Maverick City Music, for King and Country, Brandon Lake, Bryan and Katie Torwalt and others. Show creators want the event to be a worshipful experience celebrating the Christmas season, Eves explained.
Through the Christmas special, creators hope viewers will connect with the Gospel personally, whether through song or the spoken word.
“We all connect differently, and so we wanted to really look at people that connect visually, or through music or through spoken word … and bring that together in an experience that should build upon each other and … make a very strong piece for people to really be moved,” Eves said.
Though centered on the Gospel and the birth of Jesus, “The Messengers” isn’t just for Christian viewers, Eves added.
“I do believe that anyone of any faith can come and enjoy this special episode that we’re airing because it’s going to showcase humanity,” he said.
